UCL Fantasy Cheat Sheet — Matchday 1

Everything worth knowing before the deadline, on one page. No tables to sort and nothing to click through — just the picks that matter for this matchday.

Matchday 1 Deadline

--Days--Hrs--Min--SecThursday 10 September at 18:45

Best Captains

Tuesday 8th September

1K. MbappéFWD · 59.9% to scoreINT (H)59.9%
2Vinícius JúniorMID · 38.0% to scoreINT (H)38.0%
3S. GuirassyFWD · 52.1% to scoreVIL (H)52.1%
4E. HaalandFWD · 51.3% to scorePOR (A)51.3%
5A. SemenyoMID · 27.8% to scorePOR (A)27.8%
6L. JovićFWD · 42.6% to scoreLASK (H)42.6%
7E. NwaneriMID · 27.8% to scoreVIL (H)27.8%
8I. NdiayeMID · 26.3% to scorePOR (A)26.3%
9Jude BellinghamMID · 26.3% to scoreINT (H)26.3%
10K. KaretsasMID · 25.6% to scoreVIL (H)25.6%

Wednesday 9th September

1A. HakimiDEF · 23.1% to scoreSBR (H)23.1%
2Nuno MendesDEF · 23.1% to scoreSBR (H)23.1%
3RaphinhaMID · 62.1% to scoreFEY (H)62.1%
4L. YamalMID · 55.6% to scoreFEY (H)55.6%
5M. AklioucheMID · 46.5% to scoreSBR (H)46.5%
6João CanceloDEF · 16.7% to scoreFEY (H)16.7%
7J. KoundéDEF · 16.7% to scoreFEY (H)16.7%
8P. CubarsíDEF · 13.3% to scoreFEY (H)13.3%
9O. DembéléFWD · 66.7% to scoreSBR (H)66.7%
10A. GordonMID · 43.5% to scoreFEY (H)43.5%

Thursday 10th September

1P. DorguDEF · 33.3% to scoreSAB (H)33.3%
2H. KaneFWD · 75.2% to scoreBOD (H)75.2%
3Luis DíazMID · 51.3% to scoreBOD (H)51.3%
4M. OliseMID · 50.0% to scoreBOD (H)50.0%
5J. MusialaMID · 47.6% to scoreBOD (H)47.6%
6Bruno FernandesMID · 45.5% to scoreSAB (H)45.5%
7Matheus CunhaMID · 44.4% to scoreSAB (H)44.4%
8N. MazraouiDEF · 12.5% to scoreSAB (H)12.5%
9L. YoroDEF · 12.5% to scoreSAB (H)12.5%
10Lisandro MartínezDEF · 12.5% to scoreSAB (H)12.5%

Premium Picks

Who is most likely to score, regardless of price? Every priced player is on the goalscorer odds page.

H. KaneFWD · £11.0mBOD (H)75.2%
O. DembéléFWD · £10.0mSBR (H)66.7%
RaphinhaMID · £9.5mFEY (H)62.1%
K. KvaratskheliaMID · £10.0mSBR (H)61.7%
Ferran TorresFWD · £7.0mSBR (H)59.9%

Value Picks

The best goal chances under £8.0m, among players fit and actually playing — where squads are built.

Ferran TorresFWD · £7.0mSBR (H)59.9%
D. UndavFWD · £7.0mVFK (H)58.8%
B. ŠeškoFWD · £6.5mSAB (H)58.8%
E. DemirovićFWD · £6.0mVFK (H)52.6%
D. PejcinovicFWD · £5.0mVFK (H)52.4%

Differentials

Good chances owned by under 5%, fit and playing regularly — where rank is actually won.

D. UndavFWD · £7.0m · 3.0% ownedVFK (H)58.8%
B. ŠeškoFWD · £6.5m · 3.0% ownedSAB (H)58.8%
E. DemirovićFWD · £6.0m · 0.0% ownedVFK (H)52.6%
D. PejcinovicFWD · £5.0m · 1.0% ownedVFK (H)52.4%
R. PepiFWD · £6.0m · 2.0% ownedSHK (H)50.0%

Early Kick-Offs

Strong picks whose lineups are confirmed before the deadline — no guessing required.

L. JovićFWD · £6.5mLASK (H)42.6%
B. VargaFWD · £6.5mLASK (H)38.2%
N. TresoldiFWD · £7.0mAVL (H)34.7%
T. AbrahamFWD · £6.0mBRU (A)34.7%
N. JacksonFWD · £7.0mBRU (A)33.3%

Clean Sheet Picks

Which clubs are most likely to shut a side out? All 36 are on the clean sheet odds page.

ParisSBR (H)69.0%
Man UtdSAB (H)48.8%
BarcelonaFEY (H)48.8%
StuttgartVFK (H)40.8%
ArsenalNAP (A)40.0%

Best Fixtures — Next 3

Who has the kindest run coming up? The whole table is on the fixture difficulty page.

Aston VillaBRU (A)FEN (H)VFK (H)1.7
B. DortmundVIL (H)BOD (A)SAB (A)1.7
StuttgartVFK (H)SBR (A)ATM (H)1.7
LensSLA (A)SPO (H)BRU (A)2.0
LiverpoolATM (H)LASK (A)VIL (H)2.0

How to use this

Premium and value are the same question at different budgets. If you can afford one standout forward, take him; if you have three places to fill and forty million to do it with, the value list is the more useful one.

The early kick-off section is the edge the format gives you. Champions League fixtures are staggered, so the first slot’s lineups are public before the deadline — a player you were unsure about becomes a player you can confirm.

Differentials only matter if you are chasing. With eight league phase matches there is little time to recover from a punt that does not land, so take them when you need rank rather than by default.